Sanctuary from Harm - 3. Sanc Chapter 3

Back at the Porter’s home, we just relaxed and I let Jonah watch as much television as he wished, and during the day he drifted off to sleep for short periods, which we let him do, as Mrs Porter kept busy making sure that we were both well looked after.

In the late afternoon, with Nathan joining us, we headed over to the nearest Kmart store, where we bought a set of new clothes and shoes for Jonah, as the clothes that we found him in were very worn out with lots of patches on them.

Mrs Porter immediately put them in the washing machine and dryer, so that Jonah could start wearing his new clothes as soon as possible. After a long bath, and changing into his new clothes, Jonah and I had a nice meal with the Porter’s before thanking them for their hospitality and heading off, and I told Nathan that I was taking Jonah to the sanctuary.

When I woke up in the morning, Jonah was sitting on my bed smiling at me, “Daddy, where are we, this is not your usual place?” my son asked me.

“We are at my new place, I moved in recently, but I still need to do some work to make it more comfortable, for you and me” I replied, “Oh ok, what is for breakfast, I am hungry” Jonah responded, “Well, we will have to go out to get something, how about you take a shower, to freshen up, you will have to put on your same clothes, and after breakfast we will have to do some shopping for you” I said to Jonah, and I retrieved a fresh towel for him and he headed to the bathroom for a shower.

I chose to go to a small café, that had mostly healthy food, and we had freshly made poached eggs and bacon on toasted prosciutto and fruit juice, while eating I made a quick call to work and asked reception to pass on a message to the boss, to say that I won’t be at work for the rest of the week.

After breakfast, we went to a number of stores, to buy new shoes, clothes and a few items to brighten up Jonah’s new bedroom, including a small sound system, a selection of books, and some board games. When we arrived at the back of the warehouse, I was about to get out to unlock and open the door, when it opened and Nathan smiled as he opened the door wider, to let me drive into the loading bay, closing the door behind us.

“Why do we live in this old building, daddy?” Jonah asked me as we climbed out of the car, and I began to retrieve all of the shopping bags, “Well son, I bought this property so as to have something to do, to try and relax and reduce my stress levels, with the help of Uncle Nathan and our friends Scott and Charles, we cleaned up this building, repainted it, and turned part of it into a living area. I also have another two more buildings nearby.

I am transforming this warehouse into a sort of self-sufficient complex, that has solar power, and I am growing vegetables, fruits and I have some chickens also” I replied.

When can I see them, daddy?” Jonah asked me, “Well if you select a set of clothes and take a quick shower so you are in fresh clothes, we can go and see them” I replied. While Johan went to have a shower and change into some of his new clothes, Nathan made us both a cup of tea. “So, what are your plans now buddy?” Nathan asked me, as we sat down.

“Well I have already called work and said that I am taking the rest of the week off, I was planning to spend some more quality time with my son, as I have a feeling that he will be living with me for the next few years” I replied, and Nathan nodded his head in understanding. When we heard Jonah had finished his shower, Nathan stood up and headed downstairs.

“Wow, this is awesome! Is this your secret place, is it Daddy?” Jonah said to me as we arrived in the walkway, and I chuckled a little when I heard this, “I call it the sanctuary son, a place to be able to relax and enjoy the surrounds. At the moment it is not much, but I do hope to make it a great place to relax” I replied, and I lead my son across the walkway to the other side of the atrium, where Nathan was waiting.

“Wow, cool” Jonah said as he saw all trees, before heading over to the chicken run, to look at the bantam chickens. I let Jonah check the chook house for any eggs, of which there were just three, and he carried them carefully as we made our way back to the staff quarters. “Well I have to go and get ready for work, I will catch up with you guys in a day or two,” Nathan said as he said goodbye, and headed downstairs and drove out of the loading bay, which is now the main garage for vehicles.

“Well what are we going to do now, should we go out to a restaurant for some lunch, then go and see a movie?” I asked Jonah, “Yes please daddy, that would be great” Jonah replied happily, and so we climbed into the car again, this time Jonah opened and closed the loading bay door, and we headed into town to get some lunch.

“The Sanctuary is a big secret, only Uncle Nathan, Scott, Charles and you know about it, so please say nothing to anyone about it, that includes your mum, stepdad and all of your friends” I said to my son when we stopped at some traffic lights. Suddenly there was a short burst of a police siren, and I looked in the rear-view mirror to see a police car behind us, with its lights flashing.

“I think the police want to talk to me about something, we may have to have a late lunch” I commented, as I indicated and turned onto a side road and parked safely. “Mr Hunter Langston?” the officer asked as I stepped out of the car, “Yes sir, that is me, what is the problem?” I asked knowing that it would be about my son. “Do you know the whereabouts of your son, Jonah Langston?” the officer asked me, “Yes, I do sir, he is in the car with me, we are on our way to get some lunch, then go to a movie” I replied giving a small smile.

“I see, and why did you not report this to the police officers at the scene last night?” the officer asked me, “Well sir, when we safely arrived there a few minutes before the police, after nearly being rammed off the road, by an idiot driver, I was told to leave the scene and let them do the search. We did as we were instructed, and a few minutes later, Jonah revealed that he was in the car. After a quick hug and short chat, we headed home, so Jonah could have a shower and get some sleep.

This morning, we had some breakfast at a café and did some shopping for new clothes and shoes, and after a short stop at home, we were on our way to get some lunch” I explained to the officer. “This is good to know, that he is being well looked after, I understand the boy’s mother has been released to appear at court later, for child endangerment, thanks for letting us know, I will report this update to the station.

Now regarding this reckless driver incident, do you have any information on this?” the police officer said, “Yes, I do sir, the driver was the police officer who was first on scene last night, I had stopped at a stop sign outside the Caltex service station, he slammed his brakes on to avoid ramming into the back of me, the then swerved around us, and around the corner, without stopping at the stop sign and continued, on in the new direction” I replied.

“I see, I will report this and let my superior take care of that matter, thankyou for your time Mr Langston, your lunch with your son,” the officer said and he headed back to his vehicle. After an enjoyable lunch, I gave Jonah my mobile to let him look at the movies that are available to watch, and he announced that there was no movie he wanted to watch.

I suggested that we go and do some shopping for some more equipment and supplies for the sanctuary, and Jonah was pleased to be involved in helping with this. A few hours later, we had purchased a total 60 of native trees and shrubs, and I was pleased with what I saw, as I selected mostly Tea Trees and Melaleuca’s, that are around 2 metres high, plus 8 smaller shrubs that are around 1 metre high, mostly dwarf Proteas, Banksias and Hakeas.

I had chosen each one to have a different colour of flowers, so it would become colourful, and they too would be delivered on Saturday morning. Once we had left the tree nursery, we called into a shop that sells artificial turf, as I wanted to install turf, in the main atrium area so as to provide some soft greenery.

Once we had finished, and I had spent a lot more money than I had planned, we returned to the apartment, feeling exhausted from all of today’s activities. As we sat down to relax, I started to wonder what Jonah had done during the time that he was missing, and I could see that Jonah was very nervous about telling me anything, and I patiently waited as he thought about what to say.

“I am sorry daddy, I had to steal for food, so I could eat, and I mostly slept wherever I could find a place out of the rain” Jonah replied quietly, “Oh my poor boy, don’t be sorry for anything you did to be able to survive, I just wished that you had gone to my previous home, and I would have helped you” I replied.

“I couldn’t remember where it was, and every time I asked mum where you lived, she would slap me in the face” Jonah replied as he began to sob.

“You are safe now, and I will make sure that you stay safe” I replied, feeling upset at what Jonah had gone through, in the past few weeks and months, and I comforted my son as he continued to sob in my arms until he fell asleep. A few minutes later, I lay him on the couch and retrieved a blanket to cover him, before I picked up a book and sat down in a chair and read, glancing up to check on my sleeping son, every now and then.

An hour later when Jonah had woken up, I smiled as he looked at me and rubbed his eyes, “How about I ring Uncle Nathan, who is an excellent chef, and ask him to cook us something special for dinner tonight” I suggested to Jonah, “Yes please, can I call him and ask him?” Jonah asked me, “Of course, let me dial the number, then you can talk to him” I replied, as I retrieved my phone and called Nathan’s mobile number.

Once the number was ringing, I handed Jonah the phone. “Hello, this is Jonah, can I speak to Uncle Nathan please” I heard Jonah say when the call was answered, and I leaned closer to listen in. “Nathan, do you have a nephew by the name of Jonah?” we heard a lady say.

“Yes, give me the phone, and can you finish that dish I was working on, please Julia” we heard Nathan say loudly in the distance. “Hello Jonah, this is Uncle Nathan, are you ok? Where is your dad?” Nathan said when he was given the phone, “I am here, but Jonah wanted to talk to you” I replied, then I leaned back to let Jonah continue, “Uncle Nathan, we are hungry, and we were wondering if you could cook us something special please” Jonah asked.

“It will be my pleasure, to do that for you, Jonah, now tell your dad that I will have someone from the restaurant deliver it to the front of the building in twenty minutes, so make sure the loading bay lights are on, ok?’ Nathan replied. After the call had ended, I showed Jonah where the lights are for the loading bay area, which he hadn’t seen yet.

“This looks just like a business lobby for a car yard or something like that” Jonah said as he looked around, and I chuckled at this, “Yes I guess you are right about that, it does look like a car dealership reception area” I replied, and once the lights were on, we headed back to the apartment, leaving the doors open, so we could hear when our dinner has arrived. I suggested that Jonah have a shower and get into his new pyjamas, while we were waiting for dinner, which he happily did, and I wandered back to the reception lobby with a book, to wait for the delivery of the food.

When it did arrive, the delivery guy said he had no idea that there was a business in this building, as I received the parcels of food, and I gave him $50 for his time. I waited till the delivery guy was well away from the building, before locking the front door, closing the shutters, then turning the lights out as I entered the passageway.

Jonah was watching television when I arrived with the food, not sure what it would be, and I placed the two plastic bags on the coffee table and looked in one, where there was a plastic takeaway container with Jonah written on it, which had a tossed salad in it, and underneath was a plate with alfoil wrapped over the top, which I removed to reveal steak and chips. There was also a bottle of fruit juice in the bag, and once set out in front of Jonah, I retrieved some cutlery from the kitchen.

I had the same dinner as Jonah, but I had vegetables instead of chips, and a can of ginger beer instead of juice, and I smiled when I saw this, as Nathan knew that was one of my favourite drinks. After dinner, Jonah helped me to wash the dishes, and dry them, and I place the plates on the kitchen bench, so they could be returned to the restaurant tomorrow before Jonah headed to bed as he was very tired.

Two hours later, as I was about to head to bed myself, after doing some more reading, my telephone rang, and the caller ID was Nathan. “Hi mate, how did you like the dinner?” he said to me cheerfully, “It was delicious thanks, but I am disappointed that I didn’t get any chips” I replied, which made Nathan laugh, I was looking after your health and spoiling my nephew, so stop complaining” Nathan replied.

“How much do I owe you for the two dinners? Oh, and I will return the plate to you tomorrow” I asked, nothing for the meal, as you gave the delivery guy a nice big tip, and I was planning to come over in the morning at about 10 am, to discuss your plans for extending the facilities at you know where” Nathan replied.

“Well, Jonah and I spent all afternoon doing a heap of shopping, so all we need all hands for Saturday morning,” I replied, “Blimey, what did you buy? The whole circus?” Nathan asked, and I laughed at this, “Not quite, but a nice idea to think about, I will tell you everything tomorrow and see if you can bring the other two team members with you” goodnight my friend” I replied and ended the call.

The next morning, Jonah and I both slept in, and while having a late breakfast, we heard the sound of the back door opening, “Hello, are you guys up and about yet?” we heard Nathan shout out, before hearing him drive his car in, and close the door, “Yes come in, mate, we are just finishing breakfast” I replied when I heard Nathan’s car engine turn off and the door open. A few moments later, Nathan walked into the staff quarters with a cup of tea in hand, and he sat down at the table to finish drinking it, while we finished breakfast.

“So, tell me what did you exactly buy yesterday?” Nathan asked me after taking a sip of his drink, “native trees and shrubs, to cover the rest of this warehouse on all levels, including some artificial turf on the Atrium floor” I replied happily.

“Wow that sounds great, I guess we will all be very busy on the weekend, just as well that Scott and Charles are free to help” Nathan replied, “We just need to get enough garden soil to fill all of the containers, get some more reticulation equipment to connect the tanks to the tree boxes, and I was thinking maybe we could have a water feature, along the north wall between the two staircases” I announced.

When Nathan left to go to work, Jonah and I headed out to do some more shopping, this time to buy a supply of large rocks to be used to create a natural-looking water feature, plus an extra-large shallow pond, and a pump system to run the waterfall.

A few nights later, Nathan called me to let me know that Brent Charter and Kurt Muntry, would be coming to assist with all of the physical work for the weekend.

These were two other guys that we had got along well with during my first university course, they too were aged between 29 and 32 years old, and we often would study together as a group, even thou we had different courses, and if anyone was stuck on something, we banded together to get the answers.

“I don’t know Nat, I would prefer to keep the number of people that know about this place down to just 4” I said to Nathan when he told me that Brent and Kurt had volunteered to help with this special project, that the three of us have been working on for a few years.

“Look, they know that it is something special, and they already know that we call it the Sanctuary, as they have overheard us talking about it, so I have made them swear on their lives not to tell a soul about it, not even parents wives or partners” Nathan explained to me.